Customer No Service - Email Non-Response

Frustrating that companies offer online forms, then want you to call anyway. I simply asked the price of the most common two services, and received this response:

Dear Mr. Pollard:

Thank you for contacting .  Please call us at 1-877-000-0000 at your earliest convenience and any of our agents will be able to answer any questions that you have.  I do hope we hear from you soon.

Thank you for choosing .

Sincerely,

First Last
Satisfaction Specialist

America Can Be Great Again

We are in a hopeful time for those who believe in America.

Our nation is well positioned to take advantage of the time ahead. We have the infrastructure created during and because of the tech boom of the 90's, global distribution systems, the personal and business savings that has gone unspent and uninvested due to past uncertainty, and significant unemployment and underemployment.

The American enterprise, small business, and the American worker have been suppressed and repressed for the past ten years. (Yes, that goes back to when GW Bush betrayed capitalism to save a rigged system, or however he put it.) All we need is business-minded strong leadership who is willing to unleash the American people.

And we can have a true revival of the American Dream, which extends well beyond home ownership, and into personal freedom, personal wealth, family, friends, and a strong society that extends from the people, not from the government.

Vote on (or before) November 6th, and vote for those who support freedom. America can be great again.

Herman Cain to take over Neal Boortz radio show

Just received by email, with the subject of "Boortz Passes Torch to Friend, Colleague Herman Cain":

Boortz Passes Torch to Friend, Colleague Herman Cain

Inauguration Day Brings Another Big Change – To National Radio

 

For Immediate Release:

June 4, 2012

 

(Atlanta) Businessman and former presidential frontrunner Herman Cain will take full-time command of the Neal Boortz microphone when Boortz officially retires this January. Boortz announced on his show this morning that he will step down after 42 years on the air, citing a desire to spend time with his family.

“It has been a great ride, but it’s time for me and my wife Donna to hit the road and travel in ways that thus far have been impossible,” said Boortz. “As my listeners know, we love traveling, and the restraints created by my daily radio show commitment have kept us on a rather short leash.”

 

Cain acknowledged the mark Boortz has made over those 42 years. "Neal has spent his career serving as a bold, vocal advocate of what is right in this world, and condemning that which is not. I promise the torch Boortz is handing off to me will blaze as bright, as bold, and as loud as ever."

 

Not only will Cain inherit Neal’s microphone, he’ll also inherit the Boortz syndicated radio audience. The show currently airs on more than 200 radio stations, with six million listeners a week.

“I am ecstatic that Neal has kept the radio host's chair warm for me all these years," Cain joked. “He may be ‘The TalkMaster,’ but Neal's listeners know I’m the 'The Dean of the University of Common Sense.’”

 

Cain formerly hosted a radio show on News/Talk WSB in Atlanta prior to his run for the presidency, a qualification Dan Kearney, Vice President and Market Manager of News/Talk WSB, said adds to the impressive list of reasons Cain is the logical successor for Neal.  

“Cain is very well known, passionate about his beliefs, not afraid to speak his mind – and our listeners have shown they love him” Kearney said. “We’re thrilled at his return.”

 

Boortz’s last day hosting The Neal Boortz Show will be January 18, 2013.  Cain will launch his nationally syndicated radio show on January 21, 2013 – Inauguration Day.  Until then, Cain will continue joining Boortz for their Monday and Friday 10:35am ET segments, and will remain as Boortz’ primary fill-in host.

 

In addition to the new gig, Cain today revealed his revamped website, www.hermancain.com. Visitors to the site will be treated to new features, previews of upcoming, exciting events, and a refreshed, easy-to-navigate update to his previous website.

 

For More Information:

Kathy Hoekstra, Director of Media Relations

Kathy@cainsrevolution.com

Dish Network: Poor Customer Service, Self-Limited But Heavily-Promoted Features

I just posted the following to Dish Network following an online chat. Sorry, I'm bored with it now, so I don't want to re-type the chat text, but it's pretty clear.

1 - The agent asked repeatedly about my issue when I had given clear information: "I am having difficulty getting my newly-installed Hopper to skip commercials." "I understand you have questions about your Hopper." "Uh, yea..."
2 - It seems that, contrary to the impressions given in the promotional materials and SEVERELY limiting the feature's benefit, the new automatic commercial skip only works on network TV, only with programming recorded with Primetime Anytime, and only after 1AM of the day after the material is recorded. That is to say, this highly-touted feature is almost worthless since most viewers will want to watch new programs the same day as they are aired - and those willing to wait until the next day can already watch most programming with reduced commercials the next day on Hulu.

To add additional restrictions on the new features, Primetime Anytime also does not work the day of installation, but requires a second full guide download at 1am after install. Keyword search: Same - doesn't work until the next day. Blockbuster @ Home: Also doesn't work until the next day. Pay-per-view: Yup, not until the next day.

Now, don't get me wrong - the Hopper has a lot of improvements over the ViP922. The ViP922 that I just paid a $200 upgrade fee for. The buggy, seemingly code-bloated ViP922. Which I was told had a 1TB drive, but really had the same 500GB drive as the one that didn't have an upgrade fee. Which I was told could record over-the-air programming, only to find that the ability required an add-on. And which NEVER worked correctly, with regular lockups, skipped programs, and programs with errors that wouldn't play. And which I have now upgraded to a device that they are giving FREE to new subscribers, but had to get escalated to a manager to avoid yet another $100 upgrade fee. Too bad they aren't about to refund me the $200 upgrade fee, since I don't have two million readers. But at least this one seems to work, and so far, seems to work more smoothly.

Why would we "evolve" unconsciousness after a heart attack?

Just thought of an awesome anti-evolution logical argument: Unconsciousness after a heart attack. How and why would that have ever evolved?

Would you rather spend your last thirty seconds of life being able to grab a coworker and say, "My heart just stopped. Tell my wife I love her, tell my parents thanks for everything, tell my kids I'm proud of them, and that I'll see them in heaven. Oh, and thanks for standing by me at work."

Or would you rather your brain shut down to conserve energy and last an extra three to five minutes? For all of human history, that "feature" did no good. Until now, when we have the medical ability to dissolve the clot and restart the heart.

Thoughts?

Transformers DotM Target-Exclusive Voyager Starscream

I've been posting mostly to Twitter (MichaelWPollard) and to Facebook for those who know me, but this comment, while it will be short, is better suited to a blog post.

I just got the Target-exclusive Starscream Voyager figure. Yes, I'm referring to Transformers. This is the one that's a remake of the Revenge of the Fallen version, in gray with silver tattoos and a red canopy, marketed as a Dark of the Moon figure.

Dave Van Domelen has mostly good comments about the model, and I didn't get the one before because they never got cheap before they sold out. $15 with Target's current sale is pretty cheap for a $30 retail.

The model, design, coloring, and transformation are all pretty good. Unfortunately, quality control is slipping a bit, as sometimes happens with recolored rereleases, which I'd hoped wouldn't happen for a Target version, but it's really got some rough spots. Specifically in two areas.

First, there are two sets of fins, each of which can be detached rather easily. On mine, these were both attached backwards - and they were also attached to the wrong sides of the figure.

Second, the one of the fin joints has a connector tab about 1/4" long that fits in a slot. This tab has a bump in one end and a hole in the other. Unfortunately, one bump is almost non-existant (which means it obviously won't grip its mating hole very well), and one hole smaller in diameter than the bump - which means it won't fit in. The notch width allows the fin to fit in its place, it just doesn't hold on very well.

That said, Starscream looks great in jet mode. And he looks... like the movie version in robot mode. Which is better than the first movie figure, but still suffers from Michael Bay's reimagining of Transformers. Starscream's supposed to be egotistical about his appearance, which is easier if he doesn't look like an ape. But the jet is great, except for hands that are rather obvious sticking out the back. It's a lot better than having whole arms hanging from the underside, which often happens with Starscream lately. And the missiles can mount under the wings. You know, like real jets do. They won't launch there, but they look good.

Support.com: Computer technical support by American techs

I mentioned my new job when I started, but haven't said anything to really promote it. And yes, for disclaimer, I work with them.

But if you need software support, Support.com is a really good place to get it. All the support techs are in North America, so they understand and speak English. Service satisfaction is guaranteed. And subscriptions are the most popular service - for $19.99 a month, you can call anytime you have a concern.

For what it's worth, we find most computer problems are caused by malware - viruses and such. They've gotten good as slipping around security software. But we don't rely on scanners - we use a variety of tools and techniques to find and remove malware.

And we operate 24/7. I work nights, so I know that first-hand... :P

Support.com on Facebook
Support.com on Twitter

OK - I found I have posted before about Support.com - here.

Ooma: Still a good deal, just no longer a great deal

Seems Ooma has decided to increase their fees. These are supposedly all taxes and fees that are being charged to them, but I'd note that their primary competitors in the VoIP arena do not charge them. Ooma now charges $30-$50/year in taxes and fees, but the service charge for MagicJack (which is lousy, but still a competitor) is $19.95/year, and netTALK is $29.95/year, both including any taxes and/or fees.

Now, one could argue that Ooma's equipment and service are both better than either of those (and this is definitely the case for MagicJack), and that the cost is still well less than most competitors (such as Vonage at $19.99/month), but I wonder why Ooma has to charge these junk fees when closer competitors don't.

For those unfamiliar, Ooma promises free phone service for life, after the purchase of the equipment. But some time back, they added the asterisk: Taxes and fees are required. These started at, if I remember correctly, somewhat under $12 a year.

Fortunately, some older users (such as myself) got grandfathered in with no annual taxes/fees - for now anyway, but some that were $12/year, who had been considered grandfathered at that rate, just got news that their costs are going up.

Dell Sales and Technical Support: Poor in Technical and Support.

Update: See the Comments for follow-up.

I contacted Sales via chat looking for a computer recommendation. My requirements were simple: A Sandy Bridge (second-generation) Core i5 processor and the ability for 3 simultaneous displays.

The agent said that a Radeon HD 5670 video card would work for me, and gave me this link. He may have said that I needed a 5770 and linked a 5670, but the Dell chat system removes all model numbers from the chat logs.

He then gave me a quote, and I bought the complete quote, even though it had some items I didn't want. (I didn't want the security software and didn't need the speakers, but a later agent who tried to take them off wound up with a much higher price for less, and apologized, "I'm sorry the promotions changed").

Similarly, I didn't argue much concerning specific card models because different cards have different features, and your configurator gives very little detail about the actual cards. I mentioned that a forum post said that the system will only handle three displays if one of the ports is DisplayPort, and the agent said that the onboard video includes DisplayPort and that I can use them together. I pointed out that the pictures do not indicate DisplayPort is onboard, and he responded, "yes, but it is guaranteed as included."

The agent gave me a quote, and I bought from the quote provided. I realized only later that the quote only had a Radeon HD 5450, not the 5670 he had originally specified. Again, since the limitations are, to my understanding, based on offered ports and not the chipsets, and since the configurator gives zero information as to the ports or any other specific features of the cards offered, I am relying on the agent's expertise.

When I got the computer, I set it up. And had difficulties getting three displays to work. Both onboard ports were capped and disabled in BIOS; presumably there is a reason for this. I expect this is due to the system design; it's quite common that onboard video does not work with an add-in card. But the onboard video did not have DisplayPort anyway, only HDMI and VGA, despite the strong assurances of the sales agent. The add-in card has HDMI, VGA and DVI, and despite being told that it would not support three displays, I tried anyway, unsuccessfully of course.


Then I contacted Technical Support via chat. And was told that three simultaneous displays requires "Ati 5770". Nevertheness, he connected to my computer and played with my system settings for the next hour, and of course ended the same as it started: only two displays would work at a time. Any two of the three, but only two.

His solution: He will send me a DVI splitter, which will let me connect two single-link DVI monitors to the dual-link DVI port. Which means I am limited to single-link displays and separate audio cables. I was going to use a DisplayPort to HDMI adapter which would pass audio, and would like the ability to go to a higher-resolution display later, such as the Dell 3008wfp or U3011.

In summary, I seem to need an ATI Radeon 5770 card to meet one of the two only requirements for the system. But the sales agent linked a 5670 which he insisted would work. And he then quoted a 5450. And their "solution" is to use a splitter rather than actually fixing the problem.

"Interesting and Different" for supper

On the idea of "interesting and different", I fixed something a little "different" for supper. A 36oz can of white hominy, 15oz can of garbanzo beans, a pound of smoked sausage (1/4"-thick half-slices), and cajun seasonings (1/2 tsp each black pepper and paprika, 1 tbsp each dry chopped onion and jarred minced garlic, and 1/4tsp cayenne power). Simmered all but the sausage for probably 10min while cutting the sausage, then another 20min.

Never used hominy before, but got some for free - nobody else wanted it, and I didn't want to see it wasted. The out-of-the-can texture could be best compared to popcorn packed in water. It tastes like lumpy grits, so it actually works quite well with lots of stuff, just very different than regular corn. Made a really good down-home soup. I'll gladly get more hominy next time it comes up - for free anyway.